Playing with Matches
by LtTanyaBoone
Summary: Abby's birthday celebration takes a surprising turn. But he wouldn't be Tim McGee if he weren't the sensible and responsible friend, would he?
1. Dynamite

_Disclaimers:_ NCIS, the rights to the show and its characters do not belong to me._  
Spoilers:_ none really  
_Pairing:_ Ziva David/Tim McGee UST  
_Summary:_ Abby's birthday celebration takes a surprising turn. But he wouldn't be McGee if he weren't always the sensible one, would he?

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At times, he curses Abby for being such an emotional person and for her ability to have him wrapped around her finger. Because there had been no way to tell her no when she wanted to go clubbing as her birthday celebration. He didn't have the energy to tell her no, so he had agreed, under the condition that it had to be a normal club, not one of her usual ones. And since Tony and Ziva had reinforced the condition, the Goth had agreed, albeit a bit reluctantly.

When he steps into the club, the loud music immediately fills his ears and he wants to shoot himself right there and then. There are many ways he considers to be great when it comes to spending Friday evenings off work. Clutching a drink in a stuffed club while the music is slowly making him deaf is not one of them, never was and will never be. But it is Abby's birthday and he promised, so he draw a deep breath and slowly makes his way through the crowd, searching for his friends.

He finds the others at the bar. Tony is clad in jeans and a form fitting shirt, and Abby… well, he can't see much of a difference to what she usually wears, but then again, that would pass for clubbing style quite easily. Ziva, though…

He remembers when she first started working at NCIS and the skirts she used to wear before doing away with those attempts of female wardrobe and wearing her beloved cargo pants and jeans. Now, those skirts were really tame when compared to what she is wearing now. For a second, he actually believes she may have raided Abby's wardrobe, but he is pretty sure that Ziva would not have found a navy blue skirt in there, though the shortness of the garment compares to Abby's dress code. Instead of her usual shirts, she wears an off-white tank top, contrasting nicely with her skin without glowing under the black light. And her make-up… Now he gets where 'smoky eyes' come from. But the look she gives the guy down at the bar is more bedroom eyes.

"Hey!" he yells over the loud music and Abby jumps from her stool into his arms in an attack hug. He quickly wraps his arms around her to keep her from tumbling to the floor, and raises an eyebrow at Tony and Ziva.

"She had a few." DiNozzo shrugs, and Ziva jabs him in the ribs with her elbow.

"It's her birthday, she is allowed to get drunk." she tells her partner, erasing any doubt that she has been drinking that Tim might have had left. He briefly wonders where they got the time to get wasted already when he is only sixty minutes late, but then remembers Ziva saying she would get dressed at Abby's and forcing DiNozzo to pick them up. Doubtless, they already consumed some champagne at the apartment, and they have learned in the past that Ziva is able to hold her liquor a lot better than Abby does. Both of which can drink Tony under the table any day, and he does not even bother competing with them or tries to keep up on their odd nights out as a team.

"I wanna dance." Abby tells him, straightening. To his relief, she grabs Tony's hand and pulls him with her, the senior agent following her after grinning at them. Tim rolls his eyes and takes the now abandoned seat next to Ziva, making a mental note to try to keep an eye on the other two and rescue DiNozzo should Abby get a bit too frisky. The bartender comes over to them and Tim opens his mouth, but doesn't really know what he wants.

"I take whatever she has." he tells him, pointing at Ziva.

"Mojito." she tells the man, taking a sip at her drink through the straw and Tim swallows thickly. How come she never wears lip-gloss to work? Then again, if she did it may prove to be too distracting for him. He takes a sip from his own drink when it's placed before him and takes back his eCard. Ziva shifts her body and he looks at her, realizing she is moving in time with the deafening beat of the music. He shakes his head slightly, but as he takes another sip, her lips start moving, soundlessly singing along with the song.

"Wanna dance?" he hears himself say, his eyes widening slightly at his own suggestion. Ziva stops mid-word, her mouth still open. Her tongue darts out and wets her lips and he just stares before blinking and tearing his eyes away from her inviting lips.

"Sure." she nods, soft smile playing on her lips as she hops down from the barstool and downs the rest of her drink before grabbing his hand and pulling him with her just like Abby did DiNozzo not too long ago.

The dance floor is packed, and they barely find enough space to stand, but then Ziva starts moving her body along to the music and magically, it creates some space around them. He looks around nervously, but Abby and Tony are nowhere in sight and he breathes a sigh of relief. He isn't the best dancer, as Abby had told him numerous times, and he really doesn't need to give DiNozzo more material to make fun of him. But Ziva is a great dancer. In the way he is sure does not just have to do with the ballet lessons she had as a girl. It seems like dancing is something that comes naturally to her, judging from the way she keeps up with the music and the joy on her face.

He starts moving along with her, self-conscious of his movements, and he can see Ziva shake her head and laugh. Warmth creeps up his neck and face and he knows that he is as red as a lobster. Defeated, he stops moving, but she is closer all of a sudden, her body pressing into his. She never stops dancing, but her hands settle on his hips, creating a lot of pressure until he moves to escape it, only to find that there is no relief in the other position because she counters it.

"Relax, Tim." Ziva yells over the music, smiling at him, guiding his hips. "Stop thinking." she adds, and he bites his lip, looking down at her feet and starts to mimic her movements, allowing her to guide him. In time, he looks up and gives her a sheepish grin, but she returns another full-blown smile, taking her hands off his hips and spinning in front of him shortly before wrapping her arms around his neck. He stumbles shortly in surprise but catches himself, Ziva slowing her movements down until he is keeping up again, when she increases the pace to match the new song again. She's incredibly close, he can feel her hips pushing against his from time to time, and the effect she has on him… This could get very embarrassing, he realizes and places his hands on her arms to take them away from him and create some space between them, but at that point, someone stumbles into her from behind, knocking Ziva into him. He catches them, barely, his hands griping her hips tightly.

"You okay?" asks her, looking down at her, but not as much as usually due to her heels.

Ziva looks up at him and he can feel her hot breath on his face. Her tongue darts out briefly, wetting her lips, but before the warning registers with him, he feels them on his own as Ziva suddenly kisses him. Her body is pressing into his, and he knows that she is drunk and emotionally high from the dancing, but he just can't stop himself from wrapping his arms around her waist, reaching up with one to bury it in her hair and pull her head closer, returning the kiss until he is feeling her tongue with his and she moans in his mouth.

He loses track of time and has no idea how long they just stand their, kissing each other, but then someone else knocks into Tim this time, effectively breaking their kiss. Ziva's chest is heaving and she is staring at him through dark, lust filled eyes. Tim swallows thickly, carefully letting go of her hair.

"Outside." he tells her, and sees her eyes widen and darken even further. She probably thinks he wants to take her home now and he doesn't bother to correct that impression until they are outside in the fresh, slightly chilly air of the night. Ziva wraps her arms around him again, pulling his head down for another kiss. And he doesn't want to tell her no or enlighten her why he wanted her outside, so he kisses back, slowly making their way away from the crowd waiting outside of the club to a back alley. There he gently takes her arms, breaks the kiss and pulls her arms away.

"Okay, stop." he says and she frowns at him. "You are drunk, Ziva." He keeps his voice calm and neutral, but her frown deepens.

"I am far from not knowing what I am doing, Tim." she informs him, going in for another mind-blowing lip lock, but he turns his head and her lips merely brush the corner of his mouth. A small growl escapes her throat and he stares at her, surprised by her reaction. "Do you really have to always be a gentleman?" she asks him, frustration creeping into her voice. He swallows thickly, knowing pretty well that he is probably blowing the only chance he will ever get to sleep with Ziva David. And God, he wants to, really, he has fantasized about it and he's pretty sure it would be awesome. But she would probably not remember it, or regret it because she is drunk, not matter what she says. And he likes her, a lot, too much to risk losing their friendship over a drunken night of messy sex.

"Ziva…" he starts, sighing. "If this is really what you want, you can ask again when you're sober. But right now, you're not, and you're not thinking straight. Come tomorrow, I'm sure you'll want to hide your face in your hands when you remember this, that is, if you do remember. So, how about I drive you home now, huh? Nothing happens, but… you can ask again when you know what you're doing." he offers. Ziva stares at him before looking away, sighing.

"Okay." she mumbles, turning away from him to walk back to the main street. Tim reaches up to give himself a good head slap before he jogs to catch up with her. How can she be drunk enough to kiss him but still be able to walk in those ridiculous heels, anyway?

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_Reviews very welcome. And yes, I do have a certain talent for the most cliché titles, why do you ask?_


	2. Explode

_Please note the change in rating. It's there for a reason._

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Two weeks pass, and Ziva never mentions what happened at the club, proving that she can't remember a thing. Because she is still acting normal around him, the perfect agent and poster friend. And he has a hard time forgetting how sweet her lips tasted, how light her body was, how good she fit into his arms. It's distracting at work when she is saying something and he can't hear it because he is busy staring at how her lips move, and his behavior has earned him more head slaps in the last two weeks than in six months. Tony noticed, but Ziva didn't, so he doesn't try harder to get over it. Because if she were to ask what is going on… well, he would rather shoot himself dead than tell her the reason for his recent fascination with her lips.

He's just decided he'll do some free writing when there is a knock on the door. He considers ignoring whoever it is, but Jethro gets up and starts barking and whacking his tail, and Tim groans, because the only time the dog reacts like that is when it's Ziva at the door. With Gibbs he whines and retreats to the bedroom, DiNozzo and Abby are merely worth a raised head, but something about Ziva always has him get excited and happy. So McGee resigns himself to an evening of entertaining and trying to hide the physical evidence of what her close proximity does to him.

As soon as he opens the door, Jethro almost knocks him over and tries jumping up at the Israeli, who gives a surprised laugh, turning her face from the dog's tongue.

"Jethro, no!" McGee scolds him, pulling him back by his collar and stepping aside to let Ziva in. She strokes Jethro's fur and gives Tim a smile.

"It's okay-"

"No, it's not, he's not supposed to jump up and lick people." Tim shakes his head. "Bathroom, Mister." he tells the dog, dragging him as the dog tries to get back to the living room, whining. Tim locks him into the bathroom with his food, knocking against the door when Jethro tries scratching it. The scratching ceases and he can hear another low whine before there's a soft thud, indicating that the dog has laid down. He sighs and goes back to the living room.

"Sorry about that." he apologizes, and she waves it off.

"It's okay, I like him, and he doesn't bite or anything." she assures him, taking something from her bag and extending it. Confused, he stares at the alcohol meter.

"You said I could ask again, if I was sober." Ziva tells him, making him swallow thickly. So she does remember. Oh boy.

"Ziva-"

"No." she interrupts him. "I'm sober, but I doubt you will believe me, so I will take that stupid test and then we will go from there." she insists, giving him a mild glare before testing her breath and then shows him the result. Sober, she didn't have one drop of alcohol.

"Where did you even get this thing?" he wonders, furrowing his brows slightly. Ziva shrugs.

"Borrowed it from NCIS. But that doesn't matter, I didn't come here to-"

"You stole government property?" Tim squeaks. "Do you have any idea what they'll do-"

But her lips on his interrupt him, and after a moment of complete surprise, he gives in and kisses her back. She presses against him and he wraps his arms around her, trying to get her even closer. Before he really knows what they are doing, she has already unbuttoned his shirt and is pushing it off his shoulders before raising her arms so he can pull her top off. They come together in another hurried kiss again, stumbling towards his bed. He lands on his back on it, Ziva falling on top of him, and he groans when her thigh presses against his erection, clenching his eyes shut. She breaks the kiss, chuckling and kissing down his throat to nuzzle his collarbone, her teeth lightly scraping over his skin. She's not wearing a bra and he can feel her small breasts brush his chest, making him shiver with want and lust. He opens his eyes again, watching her.

"I can hear you thinking." she mumbles against his skin, looking up at him, her hands reaching for his jeans and deftly undoing the button and pulling down the zipper. He sighs at small feeling of relief that gives him, burying his hand in her curls.

"Ziva, we can't do this." he whispers, stroking the soft skin of her back with his other hand.

"I dare to disagree. We are doing it already." she says, a flicker of mischief in her eyes. Before he can say something more, her hand is in his boxers, cupping him and he groans, his hips rocking into her touch. She chuckles again, letting go of him and moving up so she is hovering above him, face to face, her fingers toying with his hair. "I don't care about the consequences at work, Tim. I am sober and I know who you are, so stop over-thinking and arguing and just enjoy it, please." she mutters, brushing her lips against his in a softer caress, unhurried and almost romantic.

"I can't." he mumbles, unable to stop himself from responding to her kiss at the same time. His hands slide down on her back, resting on her rear and pressing her into him. Ziva shudders and gives a soft gasp at the feel of his erection, rocking her hips. "I don't want you to regret this, I can't lose you over a stupid mistake, and having sex-"

"I don't want to have sex, Tim." she tells him, pulling down his pants and boxers before getting rid of hers. "I want to make love." she whispers as she straddles him, reaching between them to join them. He closes his eyes, holding his breath briefly. He feels her shuddering against him again and she hides her face in his neck briefly, her breath hot and fast against his skin. His hands come to rest on her hips as she starts moving slowly, rocking against him, and he can already feel the pressure building. He kisses her again, hurriedly this time, and she responds in just the same way, soft gasps falling from her lips every time they move against each other. He holds her thigh and turns them over so she is lying on her back beneath him, looking up at him with dark eyes, but there is something else there besides lust, something that has him hoping that this isn't a one-time-only thing, that she's being serious. Her legs wrap around him and Ziva arches her back. He kisses her breasts, first the right one, then the left, flicking his tongue over her nipples and she moans loudly, trying to get him to move faster. One of her hands in tugging on his hair, the nails of the other scratching down his back, adding a small amount of pain that almost drives him over the edge.

"Ziva-"

"Right behind. You. Oh!" she gets out between breaths, pulling him up for another kiss and just as he reaches between them to flick his fingers over her clit, she suddenly yells his name, nails digging into his skin and he can feel her clench around him in her orgasm, and he lets her pull him over the edge, collapsing onto her, completely spent.

He has to catch his breath briefly before he has enough energy to roll off her. Ziva groans at the loss of contact, tugging herself into his side, panting heavily. Her hand comes to rest on his chest and he can feel his heart racing.

"Wow." he mutters, unable to remember the last time he had sex this incredible. Ziva's chuckling again, kissing his chest before resting her head on his shoulder. His arm wraps around her instinctively, and she snuggles even closer, giving a content sigh. Once he gathers his courage, he looks at her, and gives a startled sound of surprise. She is resting, completely sated and relaxed, her eyes closed, a small smile playing on her lips.

"Didn't I tell you to stop thinking?" she mutters, not even bothering to open her eyes.

"Yeah." he returns, drawing a deep breath. Ziva's eyes flutter open and she looks up at him through dark lashes, her eyes soft and intense.

"Then stop doing it." she demands, reaching up to stroke his cheek. Tim closes his eyes, turning his face into her touch. "I'm not going anywhere, Tim." Ziva mutters, leaning up to kiss him gently before reaching down to bring the comforter up to cover them. Then she rests her head back on his shoulder, closing her eyes again. He watches her, running his hand through her messy curls, careful not to tug at them. "Tim…" Ziva warns, and he sighs.

"Sorry, can't help it. It feels like a dream." he whispers.

"I promise we will talk. But not tonight." Ziva says slowly, yawning and rubbing her nose against his skin, her body relaxing further. "Let's just hold each other tonight, okay?"

Tim blinks before pulling her even closer.

"Okay." he agrees before closing his own eyes, drifting off to sleep with a satisfied smiles playing on his face.

_fin._

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_Thank you guys so much for all the alerts and faves and reviews!  
_


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